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"Speak now or forever hold your piece:" Let's discuss... The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)/ Poll

St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
edited June 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 1,699
<img src="http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh215/george-in-the-smoke/tmwtgg_banner.jpg">;




Right, about time, methinks, for another thread dedicated to discussing - in as much positive or negative detail as desired by each and every one of you - a specific Bond film.

And the latest up for the Community chatter treatment is Sir Rog's second stab at wearing the shoulder-holster, yes, The Man With The Golden Gun.


If I'm honest, this one may be my least favourite of the Moore-headlining 007 efforts (and, as a big Rog fan, that's quite a statement for me to make, I know), but, frankly, I've always felt it a little tired and rather lacking in imagination. Many of the characters are either heavily irriatated or angry with each other (apart from, ironically, the villain of the piece, Franny Scaramanga; Christopher Lee's interpretation of whom seems to fly - quite literally at one point - above everything, ensuring he's rightly one of the series' most enduring). Yet, this major highlight aside, Golden Gun more annoys than entertains me, sorry to say. It does also boast the obvious charms of the delectable Swedish one-two that is Ekkers and The Maudster, of course, the outrageous car stunt and the dabbling with the early- to mid-'70s phenomenon that was kung-fu (and why not?), but for too many reasons the whole feels all too rushed, looks a bit too cheap and leaves me neither shaken nor stirred.

Cubby and Harry were nearly at breaking point - quite literally - during this movie's production, I believe (maybe that has something to do with it lacking the usual Bond magic?), so things would come to a head, giving the series the chance to shake things up and sort things out... which, of course, eventually gave us the spiffing Spy. So, from another point of view, given that Golden Gun had to be made to lead us to TSWLM, I do look upon the former in something of a fond light as well, must admit. ;)


Anyhoo, over to you now, folks - don't forget to vote in the poll at the side...!
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Comments

  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited May 2011 Posts: 15,718
    This is truly the best film of the franchise ! Moore is fantastic, the score is great. It's pure entertainement. I never get bored of this one. It's just flat-out hilarious, a must-watch when you are sad (to lighten you up) or happy (to get a stellar time watching it !). Some golden lines, great acting, memorable characters, great atmosphere, the wonderful sets, great stunts ( Yes! The slide-whistle is awesome and I love that stunt !). The ending, contrary to popular belief, is just flat-out awesome.

    As Charlie Sheen says to good... "Duh, Winning !". TMWTGG is full of win !! I watch it as often as I can !! The best Bond of them all !!!!

    11/10 !!!
  • gregdaultongregdaulton
    Posts: 49
    The 2nd best Moore film behind LALD in my opinion. I think that after his first 2 films was when Moore truly got campy.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    I think that after his first 2 films was when Moore truly got campy.
    Nonsense ! TSWLM and MR are awesome ! MR is top 5 material for me, TSWLM is top 8 material !

  • MoonrakerMoonraker
    Posts: 60
    Yes, DC007! Long live the Moore Era and its defenders!!!!!
  • ShorelineShoreline
    Posts: 251
    Until the last time I watched it, it didn`t rank to highly. Caught it about a year ago, and thought it to be one of the best, for the reasons DaltonCraig007 said! What`s not to like? Perfect afternoon Bond flick!
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    An 8/10 score. Last time I ranked the films, it won my #11 spot. Probably the definitive mid-range Bond film. It's a bit scaled back with the villain's plot only being to monopolize solar energy as opposed to such schemes as hijacking a NATO nuclear weapon, capturing U.S. and Russian spacecraft to trigger WWIII, poisoning the world's food supply via a virus dispensed by the 12 most beautiful farmer's daughters in the world, etc.. Nonetheless, a fun entry which I recently watched for the 1st time in UE form. Sir Rog gives one of his 2 best Bond performances(the other being MR), Christopher Lee's Scaramanga is one of the best villains in the series, Britt Ekland and Maud Adams both make memorable and gorgeous leading ladies, Herve Villechaize and Clifton James provide hilarious comedic relief, the locations(Macau, Hong Kong and Thailand) are among the most exotic in the series, the funhouse scenes are haunting and John Barry provides yet another excellent score. Good fun and one of the more underrated films in the 007 series.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited May 2011 Posts: 11,189
    I must admit, this is one of my least favourite Bond films and is in the bottom 5 of my rankings (at least judging by the last time I watched it). It simply feels tired, dated and cheap. Christopher Lee is by far the best thing about the film and provides a much needed combination of charisma and danger. Moore is fairly decent but he hasn't yet come into his own as Bond. He seems to be trying too hard to be a tough, cold assassin and it just doesn't work for him. You can tell that he's uncomfortable with the beating of Andrea and it simply doesn't fit his persona. He needed to lighten up...and fast!

    The action scenes are quite dull and the best stunt has THAT slide wistle which undermines it. The funhouse is quite effective though thanks largely to Barry's score.

    I've also never been too keen on Mary Goodnight as an MI6 agent. She comes across as incompetant - something you can't say about Stacey Sutton or Christmas Jones. I remember actually cringing at the "butt pushing" scene. I also recall seeing an interview with Moore where he strongly implyed that he disliked working with Britt Eckland. To be honest I think you can see it during their scenes together.

    Overall, its a tired film. A film which shows the strain between Brocolli and Saltzman. Thankfully, Bond came back three years later in one of the best films of the series.


    4/10
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    It is a fun movie that can be watched with the whole family, none of that gritty and dark mumbojumbo rubbish.
    And Roger Moore can do little wrong imho.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    It is a fun movie that can be watched with the whole family, none of that gritty and dark mumbojumbo rubbish.
    And Roger Moore can do little wrong imho.
    I think TSWLM is a far better "family" Bond film if I'm honest but there we go.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    It is a fun movie that can be watched with the whole family, none of that gritty and dark mumbojumbo rubbish.
    And Roger Moore can do little wrong imho.
    I think TSWLM is a far better "family" Bond film if I'm honest but there we go.
    Roger Moore as 007 is in most movies great entertainment for the family. If I were to take my daughters to the next 007 movie my wife would have my head. (there can be only one missus SM)

  • JBFan626JBFan626
    Posts: 1,497
    Makes for a great hangover film, lazing on a Sunday afternoon
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited May 2011 Posts: 11,189
    I'm not saying that Moore isn't great family entertainment, there are just better films in his catalogue to choose from IMO.
  • The_Preacher711The_Preacher711
    edited May 2011 Posts: 139
    For me it's an 8.5/10 and one of Moore's 'Big 3'.

    Yes there's campiness, and a very implausable MI6 agent.... but Christopher Lee, Herve, Maud , Sir Rog, Clifton and of course Bernard Lee (love the 'Agree tailors..' bit.) all giving great performances.

    And bonus points have to be awarded for the cool factor: Sir Rog and Lee in the same movie, sharp suits, looking good, waving guns around, showing that they are the coolest englishmen alive.

    And as mentioned above, a movie I can watch with my 5 year old without fear of the content...
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited May 2011 Posts: 15,718
    It is a fun movie that can be watched with the whole family, none of that gritty and dark mumbojumbo rubbish.
    And Roger Moore can do little wrong imho.
    Exactly ! I want more TWMTGG, MR, TSWLM !! Enough of CR/QOS ! Bring in the... benign bizarre ! The hilarious fun ! The utterly fun entertainement ! Where are Q, Moneypenny, hilarious one liners. campy secondary characters, the Bond theme full blast in action scenes, M in his/her office, M's wooden office and thick red door ?? Bring them back !! And who can forget the red telephone in M's office? Much more awesome than the bland wireless phone she has now.

  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    "Where are Q, Moneypenny, hilarious one liners. campy secondary characters, the Bond theme full blast in action scenes"

    Goldeneye had all those things and yet you hated it :p
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    "Where are Q, Moneypenny, hilarious one liners. campy secondary characters, the Bond theme full blast in action scenes"

    Goldeneye had all those things and yet you hated it :p
    GE is the best film of the 1995-2008 era. I must admit there are some good elements in it. I love the "What... no small talk? No... chit-chat ? You see, that's the problem with the world today : No-one knows how to conduct a sinister interrogation anymore. It's a lost art!" "Your sense of humour doesn't slay me, Commander, I'm sorry."

  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    Posts: 257
    I would give TMWTGG a 7 or a 7.5 rating out of 10 (for the purposes of this thread I marked a "7" in the poll); it is a very entertaining Bond film with some of Roger Moore's best scenes but a lot of silliness clouds up what could have been a better Bond film.

    For example:

    One of the coolest stunts in the series - http://screenmusings.org/ManWithTheGoldenGun/pages/TMWtGG_581.htm - is ruined by a pointless and unfunny slide whistle effect.

    Surrounded by ninjas, Bond is saved by little girls - http://screenmusings.org/ManWithTheGoldenGun/pages/TMWtGG_402.htm - which again, is not funny.

    Also, the final scene is dragged out too long with Bond's lame conversation with M/make-out with Goodnight and finally ends with a shot of Nick Nack not thrown overboard like he should have been but hanging like a Christmas Tree ornament from Scaramanga's ship http://screenmusings.org/ManWithTheGoldenGun/pages/TMWtGG_866.htm.

    Scenes like these really go far in hurting what could have been a great film rather than a good one.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    One of the coolest stunts in the series - http://screenmusings.org/ManWithTheGoldenGun/pages/TMWtGG_581.htm - is ruined by a pointless and unfunny slide whistle effect.

    Surrounded by ninjas, Bond is saved by little girls - http://screenmusings.org/ManWithTheGoldenGun/pages/TMWtGG_402.htm - which again, is not funny.

    Also, the final scene is dragged out too long with Bond's lame conversation with M/make-out with Goodnight and finally ends with a shot of Nick Nack not thrown overboard like he should have been but hanging like a Christmas Tree ornament from Scaramanga's ship http://screenmusings.org/ManWithTheGoldenGun/pages/TMWtGG_866.htm
    Nonsense ! The slide-whistle is just great, it's simply hilarious and doesn't take you out the film, it adds to the comic side that J.W. Pepper maintains during the chase.

    The fight with the girls is just awesome ! An utterly hilarious moment. Moore is so cool in that scene. I never get bored of this fight... And it continues with the unexpected moment where the car starts with Bond, and then the hilarious chase with the boats... ending with a golden line from J.W. Pepper !!

    And what's wrong with the ending? I just love it. The fight, the final shot with Nic-Nac hanging outside, the fantastic final line "Good Night, sir !", and of course the memorable end song by Lulu !

  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    Posts: 257
    @DaltonCraig007 I forgot about JW Pepper, one of my least favorite characters of the series! So irritating; if you came across a cat like that in real life you would turn around and walk the other way without a word.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited May 2011 Posts: 15,718
    I see we will never agree about TMWTGG - J.W. Pepper if my 2nd favorite character in the franchise... just behind Moore's Bond ! :-c
  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    Posts: 257
    Do not get me wrong DC007, I like TMWTGG a lot and return to it often - it is a good movie, just not one of my very favorite 007 films.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Fair Enough. ;;) I must admit I have TMWTGG, DAF, MR and TSWLM and TB in my top 5 !! :-bd
  • JBFan626JBFan626
    Posts: 1,497
    Nonsense ! The slide-whistle is just great, it's simply hilarious and doesn't take you out the film, it adds to the comic side that J.W. Pepper maintains during the chase.

    The fight with the girls is just awesome ! An utterly hilarious moment. Moore is so cool in that scene. I never get bored of this fight... And it continues with the unexpected moment where the car starts with Bond, and then the hilarious chase with the boats... ending with a golden line from J.W. Pepper !!

    And what's wrong with the ending? I just love it. The fight, the final shot with Nic-Nac hanging outside, the fantastic final line "Good Night, sir !", and of course the memorable end song by Lulu !

    It's good to have you around here Sir!

    Some other highlights...how about the very first scene! Scaramanga relaxing on the Beach, with sexually suggestive gun foreplay! What about the HMS Queen Elizabeth as the temporary HQ...and perhaps my favorite scene: the interrogation of Hai Fat on Scaramanaga, as Scaramanga cool and casually builds his golden gun only only to kill Hai Fat in return. The intensity and confidence in Christopher Lee's eyes is unparalleled.

    Oh and we can't forget....20,000 Baht!!!

  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited May 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Maybe I should re-watch it (I last saw it well over a year ago) but it's never been a real favourite of mine.

    Whilst I agree Christopher (god) Lee is terrific as Scaramanga, there are far far better films in the series.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited May 2011 Posts: 15,718
    Nonsense ! The slide-whistle is just great, it's simply hilarious and doesn't take you out the film, it adds to the comic side that J.W. Pepper maintains during the chase.

    The fight with the girls is just awesome ! An utterly hilarious moment. Moore is so cool in that scene. I never get bored of this fight... And it continues with the unexpected moment where the car starts with Bond, and then the hilarious chase with the boats... ending with a golden line from J.W. Pepper !!

    And what's wrong with the ending? I just love it. The fight, the final shot with Nic-Nac hanging outside, the fantastic final line "Good Night, sir !", and of course the memorable end song by Lulu !

    It's good to have you around here Sir!

    Some other highlights...how about the very first scene! Scaramanga relaxing on the Beach, with sexually suggestive gun foreplay! What about the HMS Queen Elizabeth as the temporary HQ...and perhaps my favorite scene: the interrogation of Hai Fat on Scaramanaga, as Scaramanga cool and casually builds his golden gun only only to kill Hai Fat in return. The intensity and confidence in Christopher Lee's eyes is unparalleled.

    Oh and we can't forget....20,000 Baht!!!

    "It's a... surprise, you see?"
    "Ohhhh surprise !! Hi hi hi hi hi!!"

    "I sure am boy !!!!!"
    "Weeeeeeee waaaaaaaa weeeeeee !!! I've never done that before !"
    "Well, neither have I actually !!"

    "Well if you got your pointy heads out of those pyjamas, you wouldn't be late for work !!"

    The asian family eating their lunch at very fast speed just outside Lazar's place... stops when Bond arrives, and resumes their lunch calmly when Bond leaves !

    The utterly cool Bond theme playing when Bond arrives in Macau !!

    The best M scene of all ! I always have a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and I feel right in a gentlemen's club, with the wooden office and the big, thick, red door !!
  • MoonrakerMoonraker
    Posts: 60
    Sumo wedgies anyone?
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Sumo wedgies anyone?
    Why, a great scene too !!
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262

    The asian family eating their lunch at very fast speed just outside Lazar's place... stops when Bond arrives, and resumes their lunch calmly when Bond leaves !

    The utterly cool Bond theme playing when Bond arrives in Macau !!
    Agreed. Also, the moment when Bond introduces himself to Lazar is my favorite "Bond. James Bond." introduction of the Moore era. I'm particularly fond of Barry's music as it goes into the strains of a very Eastern instrumental rendition of the title theme song.

  • The_ReaperThe_Reaper
    Posts: 1,092
    It is one of Moore's weakest and it ticks me off they didn't follow the novel AT ALL. B/c what Fleming wrote was brilliant. But I still enjoy the film for what it is, Moore was coming into his own here.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    Just finished re-watching MWTGG for the first time in about in a year and a half (maybe even 2 years). Talking about it the other day on mi6 made me want to go back and take another look at it since it seems to get a fair bit of appreciation around here.

    I always ranked it fairly low in my ratings, and to be honest it still is - though maybe it has moved up a few positions.

    There is a good film in MWTGG. The central concept of Bond facing his evil counterpart is potentially compelling and was seen again 21 years later in GE. The PTS is brilliantly done with Barry's errie score and the creepy, fair-ground like fun house.



    Bond playing detective as he tries to track down the origin of the golden bullet is fine and in fact the first 40 minutes of the film are quite good. Although Moore does seem a little too intense at times, he does carry the story along.

    It's the middle part where the film sags however. The attempt at Kung-Fu sticks out like a sore thumb, Bond gets defended by 2 girls, Lt Hip randomly drives off leaving Bond and the main car chase - featuring the much "loved" Sheriff JW Pepper - never really excites the way it should and actually feels a bit boring.

    Things get better though once Bond arrives on Scaramanga's island (aside from the rather boring main scheme). The face off between Bond and Scaramanga at the dinner table is one of the best scenes in the film - thanks largely to Mr Lee's relaxed, arrogant attitude. Lee also gets some of the best lines in the film ("Mr Hai-Fat has just resigned, I'm the chairman of the board").

    Britt Ekland is one of the more forgettable girls in the series. She seems to jepordise the mission rather than help it along (getting locked in a boot, blowing up the base and - urgh - triggering the solex with her arse). There is little chemistry between her and Moore and she is nothing more than an attractive but pretty one-dimentional sexual conquest. For an MI6 agent she is hopeless - Christmas Jones was never this inept.

    Maud Adams is by far the better of the 2 Bond girls as her character has something resembling an intelligent personality.

    So...ok but not great, probably 18 on my list.

    5/10
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